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Matthews extends career-best goal streak as Leafs heap added misery on flailing Canucks – CBC.ca

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Auston Matthews has never had a run like this in the NHL.

And in the process, the Maple Leafs star helped heap more misery on a flailing opponent once again left searching for answers.

Matthews scored twice — including a stunning finish that materialized out of almost nothing — to extend his goal streak to a career-best seven consecutive games Saturday as Toronto thumped the Vancouver Canucks 5-1.

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“I try to have the same mindset whether the puck’s going in or not,” said the 23-year-old centre, who also buried a pair in Thursday’s 7-3 victory over Vancouver, and is always more eager to talk about a teammate’s success than his own.

WATCH | Matthews strikes twice against Canucks:

Auston Matthews potted his ninth and tenth goals of the season in Toronto’s 5-1 win over Vancouver. 0:56

With the Leafs already up 1-0 in the first period, Matthews stepped past Canucks defenceman Jalen Chatfield in the blink of an eye before roofing the puck shortside on Braden Holty to extend his streak.

“That goal … it happens so fast that I don’t think anybody on the ice was really ready for it,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Just how quickly he went from going around the defender to putting it in the net … it was impressive.

“I think in both these games we’ve played here, he could have had four or five. He was really feeling it.”

Simmonds, Hyman supplement offence

Wayne Simmonds, with two of his own, and Zach Hyman, with a goal and an assist, provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (9-2-1). Frederik Andersen, who was just over two minutes away from registering his first shutout of the season, finished with 27 saves.

Mitch Marner added three assists to extend his point streak to seven games, while Mikko Lehtonen chipped in with two more for his first two-point night in the NHL.

Toronto is now 7-0-1 over its last eight and sits atop the North Division with 19 points, one better than the Montreal Canadiens.

“We’re controlling the puck well,” Marner said. “When that’s happening, it’s a good sign from us.”

It’s also been a very bad sign for Vancouver (6-9-0), which got a late goal from Brock Boeser in losing a fourth straight game in regulation this week.

“We need to expect a little more out of ourselves,” said Holtby, who made 26 stops. “As a group we need to be a whole lot better.”

WATCH | Week 3 roundup of the NHL’s North Division:

In our new weekly segment, Rob Pizzo catches you up on the week that was in the all-Canadian division in the NHL. 3:11

Playing their league-leading 15th contest, the Canucks have now surrendered an NHL-worst 60 goals in 2020-21, and have given up at least five against nine times.

“Everything looks difficult for our team,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “Simple plays look hard right now.

“It’s not coming easy, and maybe that’s a little bit of a mental thing.”

The teams play seven more times in the NHL’s abbreviated season, including Monday back inside a fan-less Scotiabank Arena because of COVID-19 protocols to wrap up this three-game set.

Looking for a spark, Green reunited the “Lotto Line” of Boeser (No. 6), Elias Pettersson (No. 40) and J.T. Miller (No. 9), while Vancouver winger Loui Eriksson — in the fifth season of albatross $36-million US, six-year contract — made his 2020-21 debut alongside Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson.

WATCH | CBC Sports’ Rob Pizzo highlights NHL’s Black trailblazers:

Willie O’Ree broke the league’s colour barrier in 1958, and there have been a lot of firsts since then. Rob Pizzo walks you through 9 trailblazers for Black History Month. 1:52

The Canucks, who qualified for the second round of the 2019-20 pandemic-delayed playoffs before undergoing a number off-season changes as key veterans left in free agency, were once again far from good enough versus the high-flying Leafs.

Toronto opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first when its lethal power play, which has now scored in 11 of its 12 outings, went to work. Simmonds took a pass from Marner at the side of the net and, with the cross-ice option to Matthews taken away by a defender, instead roofed his fourth of the season in off the bar.

“I’ve seen that goal a couple times,” Marner said of the veteran winger’s finish. “It’s impressive to see it with my own eyes tonight, though.”

Simmonds then hit two posts on the same shift as Vancouver, which didn’t register a shot attempt until Justin Bailey forced a save out of Andersen almost nine minutes in, struggled to keep up.

Boeser spoils Andersen’s shutout

Pettersson, who would find iron at the end of a power play late in the period, had a chance on a partial break Andersen turned aside before Matthews went to work with his ninth to extend that torrid goal run.

“He’s been playing great,” Marner said of his red-hot linemate. “When you give him time and space, it’s usually a goal.”

The Leafs made it 3-0 at 7:36 of the second when Marner wove into the Vancouver zone and found Lehtonen, who in turn fed a great pass for Hyman to tap in his third.

The Canucks showed some life later in the period, with Andersen making a good save on Nils Hoglander. Miller then blasted a one-timer that beat the Leafs netminder, but Toronto correctly challenged for offside.

Matthews, who played second fiddle to Jason Spezza on Thursday with the veteran registering his first hat trick in nearly five years, put his team up by four with his 10th at 1:28 of the third when he outraced Miller to Holtby’s clearing attempt before firing five-hole.

“Just how powerful he can be an how crafty he is, it’s fun to watch,” Andersen said. “It’s nice to see him be as dominant as he is.”

Simmonds, who left the game after taking a shot off his hand later in the period, added to Vancouver’s pain 1:48 later when he tipped home his fifth off point shot from Lehtonen, who was inserted into the lineup with Travis Dermott (leg) out injured.

Boeser spoiled Andersen’s shutout bid when he scored his sixth on a deflection with 2:04 left in regulation on a Canucks’ man advantage.

But that could do little to sour the Leafs’ mood following another dominant performance.

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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NHL analyst gets absolutely roasted for ‘insanely rich’ take on Zach Hyman

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They say everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when you’re a member of the media and you share a truly awful take, you’re going to get called out for it.

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That’s what happened when NHL analyst/podcast host Andrew Berkshire decided to post a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) mainly attributing Zach Hyman’s success to the fact that he grew up “insanely rich.”

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The post came on the heels of the Oilers winger reaching the 50-goal milestone for the season and was rightly ripped apart by several notable colleagues, former players and fans in general.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 5.4 million times as of Wednesday morning, begins by stating that he has been in the sports media industry professionally since 2012 and that the industry “has to do a better job of telling truthful stories,” before discounting Hyman’s accomplishment.

“The story that’s being sold right now … is that, you know, if you work hard, if you stick to it, you can get there too, 31-year-old guy finally hits the 50-goal mark, harder worker, all that,” Berkshire said.

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“Yeah, great, except you’re missing the part of the story where Zach Hyman grew up insanely rich.”

Berkshire, who works as an analyst and host with the Steve Dangle Podcast Network, then details how Hyman’s parents bought a league to “guarantee him playing time,” and that he did “exclusive training that only a rich person … could afford.”

“This is a person that has had every single possible advantage to get where they are today,” Berkshire continued, before also bringing up the fact that Hyman has been fortunate enough to play on teams and lines with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid most of his career.

While Berkshire does state that Hyman is a hard worker and brings grit when he plays, he also discounts it almost immediately.

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“Working hard, everybody works hard. You think every NHLer didn’t get there by working hard?” he asks. “Let’s not build this stupid narrative of ‘work hard, you’ll succeed.’ It’s just not true.

“There are people who’ve worked as hard as Zach Hyman their entire lives and never got a sniff of the American Hockey League, let alone the NHL because they didn’t have the advantages he had.”

Former Leafs defenceman turned NHL analyst Carlo Colaiacovo thought the whole take was ridiculous, posting the following: “Let me tell you something Andrew. You can’t buy your way to the NHL. You definitely can’t buy your way to having the career Hyman has had which includes scoring 50. Pretty ridiculous thing to say.”

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Retired NHLer Bobby Ryan was one of the first to weigh in, calling the opinion “purely false.”

“As someone who has maybe lived on both ends of the ‘financial edge’ I can say this is just purely false. Who cares, he accomplished a feat not many do and to downplay the way it’s reported is just wrong. You show up, do the work, good things happen,” Ryan posted on X.

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Jonathan Goodman, who claims he was Hyman’s personal trainer and tasked with getting the budding pro ready for the combine, had a glowing review of his former pupil’s work ethic.

“Yes, he had advantages. His family was wealthy and father obsessed with his success,” he said. “But the dude worked hard. Harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

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But, perhaps another former NHLer, Jason Strudwick said it best, replying to the video by asking: “Did Hyman not sign an autograph for you one time?”

 

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